Renkeiji Temple

Photo: Wikimedia Commons（CC BY-SA 4.0）

One of the leading old temples of Koedo Kawagoe, ranked alongside Kitain, also affectionately known as 'Kawagoe Daishi.' A Jodo sect temple said to have been founded in 1549 (Tenbun 18) by Daidoji Masashige, lord of Kawagoe Castle, to pray for the repose of his late mother Renkei-ni. Its founding priest, Sonjo Shonin, later became the 10th head priest of Zojoji, the great head temple of the Jodo sect, and in the era of his disciple Sono Shonin, successive generations of the Tokugawa shogunal family, beginning with Tokugawa Ieyasu, became devoted followers. During the Edo period it was counted among the 'Eighteen Danrin of Kanto,' training institutions for Jodo sect priests, and as a prestigious temple permitted to use the Tokugawa hollyhock crest, it trained many scholar-monks. The 'Obinzuru-sama' statue on the grounds is said to cure the corresponding part of the body when rubbed, and its wood grain has been polished smooth by years of touching. On the 8th of each month, 'Donryu Day' brings stalls loved by locals. Its location right near the Kurazukuri townscape and Ichibangai shopping street makes it an easy stop during a stroll through town.